A growing number of clinics and doctors around the world are embracing digital currency and using Bitcoin as an option for patients to pay their bills. Generally speaking. However, this option is only available for minor procedures and standard doctor’s visits. One forward looking hospital is about to change all of that. A private hospital […]

The premier decentralized digital currency Bitcoin has gained widespread mainstream attention over the last year. While many are embracing this new peer-to-peer payment system, others have voiced strong suspicion and offer stinging criticism. The divergence of opinion surrounding Bitcoin is a predictable pattern that happens with any major innovation. Silicon Valley tech entrepreneur and author Andreas Antonopoulos said, “Bitcoin and crypto-currencies in general don’t fit any of the traditional modes: not currency, stock or commodity, but [are] a new asset class”. He continued, “trying to figure out Bitcoin by fitting it into an existing paradigm misses the point. Cryptocurrencies broke the paradigm. It’s a new world.” The phenomenon of blockchain currencies shakes up our preconceived notions of money, but more […]

Digital currency users are about to have a lot more choice when it comes to spending their Bitcoin in the Bay Area! In a bold move aimed at turning the San Francisco Bay area into the world’s digital currency hub, Bitcoin payment solutions provider SnapCard announced on Tuesday that it will be giving 500 local […]

There’s an old saying about companies like Whatsapp: “If the product is free, you are the product.” While Whatsapp’s services appear to be free, you pay for it in privacy and convenience, with the information you yield for advertising purposes, and the annoying ads themselves. Every person you invite to the Whatsapp network makes them a measurable amount of money, none of which is given to you. Gems is an attempt to fix that using cryptocurrency. Utilizing the Bitcoin blockchain, they’ve created a token designed to sustain a social media network with more personal autonomy in a trustless manner. They’ve also included some additional features that will be attractive to the cryptocurrency community. Although their server-side software is proprietary, Gems is an […]

A harsh winter looms ahead, and a creative New Yorker has found a brilliant solution to mounting heating costs: fill your place with ASICs and start mining Bitcoin. Perhaps you won’t become the next Bitcoin millionaire, but you will certainly save a lot of money on heating. The blogger analyzes the cost of all options […]

Last September 17th to 19th, the Digital Currency Summit was celebrated in Andorra, the small country placed three hours away from Barcelona; it was a three day debate forum which treated topics like the use and importance of cryptocurrencies for banks, governments, investors and general public. In order to achieve that goal there were organised conferences and debates around four threads: “Introduction to Digital Currencies,” “Investment opportunities,” “Regulation: laws and taxes,” and “Financial and Banking,” in addition to a presentation of several startups and cryptocurrency-related projects. Andorra is a micro-state composed of 85,000 people and characterized by a strong traditional banking system, and is usually considered as a tax haven —althought it is not— because of its bank secrecy and […]

Entrepreneurs, innovators and athletes participate in the world’s first supercar racing experience paid in full in Bitcoin, or as the organizers like to say, “Fueled by Bitcoin.” Also read: Dogecar Driver Josh Wise Places 28th at Talladega The MaiTai BitFury Racing experience – a three-day VIP event from October 23 to 26 – is hosted by MaiTai Global founders Susi Mai and […]

Entrepreneurs, innovators and athletes participate in the world’s first supercar racing experience paid in full in Bitcoin, or as the organizers like to say, “Fueled by Bitcoin.” Also read: Dogecar Driver Josh Wise Places 28th at Talladega The MaiTai BitFury Racing experience – a three-day VIP event from October 23 to 26 – is hosted by MaiTai Global founders Susi Mai and […]

Coinfloor, a London Based Bitcoin Exchange, holds all funds in cold storage. In addition to the cold storage of all client funds, all transactions are cleared through a multi-sig system where multiple keyholders check to be sure the transactions are legitimate prior to sending them out. Multi-signature wallets require more than one signature in order […]

BANGALORE (Reuters) - Emerging Asia will contribute less to the global economy in 2015 than was expected just months ago as a slowdown in China drags on growth in the region, partially offset by acceleration in the United States, Reuters polls showed.

Until recently the primary engine of global growth, most Asian economies have slowed, hamstrung by erratic exports, sluggish domestic demand, capital outflows and political and policy uncertainty.

At the same time, many of Asia's major trading partners in the West are grappling with disinflation and weak demand, making it difficult for central banks there to move away from aggressive monetary stimulus.

Estimates for 2015 GDP growth were either cut or left unchanged for nine Asian countries in the latest poll of over 200 economists conducted over the past week, with Hong Kong, Indonesia and Singapore bearing the brunt of the downgrades.

India, Malaysia and Thailand were the few economies for which economists made slight upgrades to growth projections.

These latest lacklustre forecasts follow a similarly tepid performance this year, during which China's economy slumped to its slowest pace of growth since the global financial crisis.

"The Chinese economy is unbalanced at present with an excess of investment, much of which has been financed via debt," said Jay Bryson, global economist at Wells Fargo.

"The slowdown that is under way in China is partially policy-induced, and the days of double-digit Chinese economic growth appear to be a thing of the past."

China's economy is expected to expand 7.4 percent this year, narrowly missing the government's 7.5 percent annual target, as Beijing tries to derive more future growth from consumer demand rather than exports. In 2015, economists predict growth to slow further to 7.1 percent. [ECILT/CN]

Also among the primary reasons for the protracted slowdown is the risk that China's overheated property market might crash, triggering ripple effects through a highly leveraged economy and further dragging on consumer demand.

While Beijing has undertaken targeted stimulus to ease business lending, liquidity and housing regulations, economists do not expect a major shift in policy or lower interest rates from the People's Bank of China.

Effects from a slowdown in the world's second largest economy have trickled through to South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and Indonesia, with growth estimates downgraded in the latest survey.

India, Asia's third largest economy, was among the few bright spots. Growth there is expected to pick up to its fastest pace this fiscal year since 2010-11 on the view that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will unveil much needed reforms to attract investment. [ECILT/IN]

The authors of the new Bitcoin Sidechains paper “Enabling Blockchain Innovations with Pegged Sidechains,” published on the Blockstream website, hosted a Reddit AMA yesterday. Also read: SEC Form Shows Bitcoin Technology Company Blockstream Already Has Millions in Funding AMA means “Ask Me Anything” – Reddit users can ask the host all sorts of questions about […]

Bitcoin price is completing a extended leg of correction. With most market instrument charts like Gold, equities and the forex completing similar corrective moves, an explosive resumption of previous market trends is expected. The Fed is all out of chutzpah and stock market indexes are on the edge of a precipice. Bitcoin and Gold look […]

Following previous “favourable” announcements about the Digital Currency from the Chancellor, the UK’s minister for the digital economy Ed Vaizey demonstrated once again the government ‘s strong ambition for Bitcoin, by asserting that it will continue to support the digital currencies: “We’re doing a major program of work looking at opportunities in digital currencies.We want […]

Skye Bonnow is an altcoin trader that had 140 BTC swiped from his Cryptsy account in January of 2014. Skye maintains that he adhered to Cryptsy’s Terms and Conditions and was still utterly defrauded of his bitcoins. The lawsuit is currently seeking the maximum damages for the lost coins: treble the amount of the current usd value, […]

Skye Bonnow is an altcoin trader that had 140 BTC swiped from his Cryptsy account in January of 2014. Skye maintains that he adhered to Cryptsy’s Terms and Conditions and was still utterly defrauded of his bitcoins. The lawsuit is currently seeking the maximum damages for the lost coins: treble the amount of the current usd value, […]

The XRP price has trended upward over the past few months, which vaulted Ripple up the market cap charts (XRP is the Ripple platform’s native currency). Thus far, the XRP price has avoided entering a cooling-off period. It may be time to certify Ripple as cryptocurrency’s #2, at least by market cap. Also Read: Ripple […]